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Video: Volkswagen Super Bowl Ad Sparks Controversy

Jan 29, 2013  •  Post A Comment

A Volkswagen commercial for the upcoming Super Bowl has sparked a controversy after the spot was previewed online, Motor Authority reports.

“Volkswagen’s upcoming ad for Super Bowl XLVII doesn’t feature scantily clad bikini models, singing dogs or an adorable pint-sized version of a famous movie villain,” the piece reports. “There are no pyrotechnics, driving stunts or rock bands, either. Instead, it centers on the quest of a lowly office drone named Dave, who drives a VW Beetle, to improve morale in his workplace.”

The problem with the “Get Happy” spot, the piece reports, is that “Dave, who’s from Minnesota, speaks with an island patois that some find demeaning to Jamaicans. Worse, one extreme feels that the video portrays Jamaicans as lazy, though we have a hard time seeing that ourselves.”

See for yourself — here’s the video:

5 Comments

  1. This ad. is hilarious. I’m from Minnesota and I still live here. Would people be “super offended” if “Dave” spoke with a German or Norwegian accent??? Can we PLEASE stop with the whiney, fake, outrage already???

  2. If anything, it looks like it portrays Jamaicans (or Minnesotans who speak with a Jamaican accent) as constantly upbeat.
    Either way, I doubt it’s a stereotype.
    And is it worth getting upset about?

  3. Seems lately people are looking for ways to be offended. I think it is an off shoot of political correctness. No on is allowed to have even the hint of a feeling hurt. Time to put your big boy pants on and act like an adult!

  4. My God, people, IT’S FUNNY!!! Saw on my phone two days ago and couldn’t believe some PC idiot’s article calling it racist yesterday. Since when is it racist to try to make people happy?? The man’s not in dredlocks, not smoking a fatty, not playing the bongos or somesuch; so how it being hurtfully stereotypical? Hell, as a black woman, if my people were being stereotyped as joy-bringing, optimists in a national commercial: I’d be celebrating, not whining!!

  5. I am a Jamaican, St. Mary Parish and I am not offended! I am delighted! This might be a fake attempt to make this controversial. If it is not, it’s probably some pretentious Jamaicans (with New Kingston attitudes) that were offended, likely because it makes several Rastafarian references in diction. But, I am proud of the “sunny side of life/IRIE life” attitude my heritage affords me–and the rest of the world–just as much as our Jamaicans who have more than one job! Should I be offended if he drove his VW to both jobs? No sah. Tell di rest of dem fi GWEH (to go away) wid dem nasty attitude!

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